All posts tagged: government

Best Practices For Teaching During COVID-19

One of my favorite pictures of teaching in action. “Hey Google” “What are the best practices for teaching during Covid-19?” Spoiler alert: There are none. When my school district produced a mandatory professional development session that taught teachers how to transition to online learning, I became immediately skeptical. I was also frustrated at the utter hubris it takes to claim to know anything about online learning when your background is everything but, and then present it as a mandatory training module. While I did learn some things about Canvas that I was completely unaware of (which I am deeply grateful for), there was a lot of unnecessary stress added by the way the PD was rolled out. I want to make it very clear, I’m not frustrated with our district coaches. I’m frustrated with the administration that made the decisions and how it was rolled out in typical half-ass fashion, i.e., not having their poop in a group. Every year teachers are bombarded with crap. And I do mean crap. Between education corporations looking to sell you the latest …

Trump’s "Spiritual" advisor.

Today was supposed to be a fun and relaxing day to not talk about serious issues. I was going to attempt to write a short story just to get my mind loosened and ready for homework. Then, I opened Facebook.  Normally, I read news that people post and don’t have a single reaction to whatever it is that is going on. I may feel bad for people out in the world, but I typically center myself  and try not to react without taking time to think about it. However, this time I couldn’t just let it go. What I am reading and verifying is straight out of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.  Basically, President Trump has a new-ish “spiritual” advisor. You know, like Jafar from the story of Aladdin. The same story where he uses his position and magical powers to exploit the sultan and gain more power. And for those of you who aren’t into Disney flicks that take stories and turn them into child friendly musicals, let’s just remember Rasputin. You know, the …